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Sheriff on missing teen: 'We hope we find her well'

The mother of a missing Simpson County teen said she just wants her daughter to know she's loved and that her family wants her to come back home.

Haley Rankin, 15, went missing last Tuesday and may have been seen in Jackson since that time. Her mother, Lacey Taylor, said she wants her daughter to know that her family just needs to know she's safe.

"Her brother has really been upset, and I just want her to know her family loves her. I know she has to know that, we're a very open family," Taylor said. "We'll work out anything with her, we just need to know that she's okay."

Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis said his detectives have been working together with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Fusion Center trying to pinpoint her whereabouts. They've also been keeping close contact with national runaway organizations to keep Haley's information out.

"We've been concerned about her welfare from the beginning," Lewis said.

Authorities said there's no way to be 100 percent sure that the girl that was seen in Jackson was, in fact, Haley Rankin.

The not knowing where or how Haley is has been the hardest part of the last week, Taylor said. Haley has run away before, two years ago, and had just gotten her cell phone back at Christmas time, as a way for her parents to let her know they trusted her to be responsible.

"They found her phone on Highway 13, and when they told me that, I lost it," Taylor said. "I was thinking someone had her and just threw her phone out, didn't know what to think."

Lewis said since the teen disappeared, no one to his knowledge has heard from her.

"I'm not aware of anyone she's reached out for," Lewis said. "I certainly hope we find her well. Hopefully she'll make contact with her family or friends."

Taylor said Haley didn't give any indication leading up to her disappearance that she was planning on going anywhere. She had agreed to take a work shift for her mother, they were talking about paint colors for her new bedroom -- Haley seemed normal, Taylor said.

"When this happened, we didn't have anything going on. Nothing more than, 'When are you going to clean your room?'" Taylor said. "We weren't having big issues and fights. I could have understood if we were fighting. It wasn't anything like that."

Haley's mother said she believes that Haley left with people she met on the internet.

"I don't know who she's with and that's what scares me. I don't know the kind of people she's hanging around, the kind of environment she's staying in, is she getting enough food, is she getting enough rest?" Taylor said. "I can't sleep. Every 30 minutes I'm waking up: Is she eating, is she sleeping, is she cold?"

Taylor said the family is grateful for all the prayers and support they've received from the community, but they still are asking the public to help them bring Haley home.

"We just want people to know if they see her to try to get her to contact her family," Taylor said.

Anyone with information about Haley's whereabouts is asked to call the Simpson County Sheriff's Office at (601) 847-2921.